Anchorage cop shot multiple times in early morning ambush, suspect killed

Police in Alaska say an officer has been shot multiple times in what they described as an ambush.

The attack happened early Saturday morning. The man suspected of shooting the officer was killed, and the officer is expected to survive.

Police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro says the officer was in surgery following the shooting in downtown Anchorage just before 5 a.m. The Anchorage Daily News reported that the officer is expected to survive.

"A preliminary investigation found that an officer was responding in their patrol car to a report of a theft suspect who was on foot in the area of 5th Avenue and Cordova," police said in a statement.

NEW THREAT FOR POLICE: THE AMBUSH

The officer was responding to reports that a theft suspect was on foot, and the officer was pulling over his cruiser over when a man with a gun started firing. Castro says that the officer got out of his vehicle, and the shooter continued to fire as the officer was on the ground.

Another officer responded and returned fire at the shooter.

Per department policy, the names of both officers won't be released for three days.

Earlier this week, a gunman opened fire on two police officers southwest of Pittsburgh, killing one and wounding the other, apparently killed himself in the home where he was hiding out.

Last week, a New York City police sergeant was shot and killed and a second one was wounded in a gunfight on a street with an armed man who had broken into his estranged wife's home.

The Associated Press contributed to this article